Pole structures are used for a variety of purposes, such as, but not limited to, highway luminaire supports and utility poles for telephone, cable and electricity. These pole structures are typically made from materials such as wood, steel or concrete.
Generally with wooden pole structures, the wood is treated to protect the pole structure from insect damage, pest attacks (such as woodpeckers and ants) and any rotting effects from moisture, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Such treatments may also make the pole structure more susceptible to fire, as they generally involve some form of petrochemical, which is impregnated into the wood of the pole structure. Other types of pole structures, such as steel and concrete pole structures may also be susceptible to environmental damage, such as fire. Older pole structures made of any material may require extra structural support. Further, with some electrical steel poles, electrical insulating material may need to be provided at the point where the steel pole exists the ground in order to protect people touching the pole structure in the event of a ground fault. If these types of pole structures are damaged and are no longer functional, this can cause a service interruption to consumers, such as to those consumers travelling on highways and those who rely on these pole structures for providing telephone, cable and electricity services. It can be expensive and time consuming to replace such pole structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,151,898 to Merchant (hereinafter referred to as “Merchant”) descries a wildfire suppressor that is cylindrically shaped so that it wraps around a wooden utility pole. The fire suppressor of Merchant comprises two layers, with the first layer including a ceramic material for reflecting heat and the second layer containing a graphite compound that expands when heated to a certain temperature thereby becoming a poor conductor of heat. The first layer is located on the outer portion of the sheet and the second layer is located closer to the object being protected.